‘Your camera is your weapon’: How Iraqi women are using smartphones to hunt predators and expose harassment

In Baghdad, a woman confronted a driver who she accused of exposing his genitals and making obscene comments while she was walking along a busy street. She filmed the encounter on her phone and tried to open the car door, while the driver refused to get out. The video later appeared on the Instagram page of Iraqi women’s rights activist Sara Jasim, who shares footage supplied by women accusing men of sexual harassment and abuse.

Recording an incident can give women evidence to support a complaint and make it difficult for an alleged offender to deny their allegations. The videos show the risks women face when they challenge harassment in public. It also reveals the risks women face when they challenge harassment in public.

“Your camera is your weapon,” Jasim said. She believes a recording can help a woman who decides to pursue legal action and can at least expose the person she accuses.

She said one of her posts was followed by the arrest of a police officer accused of harassing schoolgirls. She has also received death threats, including warnings that she could be attacked with acid. She said that she had been accused of spreading obscenity because she encouraged women to speak about experiences that society often expects them to keep private.

The threats have restricted her movements. She now rarely leaves home because of fears for her safety and spends long periods with her dog. Jasim wants Iraqi law to explicitly recognise harassment and gender-based violence as criminal offences.

When reporting abuse becomes a battle of its own

Women who shared their experiences described a legal process that can be difficult to pursue. Activists and lawyers said legal cases involving alleged sexual harassment or rape often take years to resolve and involve complicated procedures, with no guarantee of a favourable outcome.

A United Nations committee examining discrimination against women said that violence against women and girls in Iraq was widespread and that many cases went unreported. It called for stronger legal protections, including the removal of provisions that can allow a person accused of rape to escape prosecution or have a sentence quashed by marrying the survivor. 

The committee also urged Iraqi government to remove legal provisions that can reduce punishment for killings committed under the label of “honour”.

Human Rights Watch has likewise documented provisions in Iraq’s penal code that can shield men from accountability for violence against women. These include Article 398, which provides for the dropping of certain rape or sexual assault cases if the accused marries the survivour, and provisions that allow reduced sentences for crimes committed for so-called “honourable motives”. The organisation has called for these provisions to be repealed. 

Reporting abuse can expose women to blame from relatives and public humiliation. Some feared their families would turn against them, while others worried that seeking help could lead to further harassment.

Amal, whose real name has been withheld, chose to approach the police after her daughter allegedly suffered repeated sexual assaults by her ex-husband. The girl was under 18 at the time.

She alleged that her former husband used a gun to intimidate the girl. Recalling what her daughter told her, Amal said he entered the girl’s room, placed the weapon on the bed and threatened her, “If I kill you, nobody will hear.”

Amal said her daughter had bruises around her wrists because her father had gripped her hands tightly. She alleged that he covered the girl’s mouth whenever she tried to scream. She also showed medical documents that she said included DNA evidence supporting her allegation.

She believes her former husband threatened to kill their daughter to prevent the medical findings from becoming public and the alleged assault from being proved. Amal said she had overheard him telling a relative to “wash away our disgrace” if he was arrested, a phrase she understood as a reference to a possible so-called honour killing.

Her former husband is now on the run, and the court case has dragged on for nearly five years, Amal said. She has struggled to pay for legal representation while her former husband hired several lawyers. She also said her family did little to support her.

“I fought this entire battle alone,” she said.

Amal is unsure whether the court will rule in her favour. She said she wants her former husband to stay away from her and her daughter permanently.

A shortage of safe places for survivors

Women escaping sexual and domestic violence may have few options if they cannot turn to relatives for help or financially support themselves. Iraq has a limited number of shelters for women fleeing abuse, according to rights groups.

One of the activists who helped establish shelters was Yanar Mohammed, a prominent Iraqi women’s rights defender and co-founder of the Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq. She was shot outside her home in Baghdad on March 2, 2026, by unidentified gunmen and later died in hospital. The United Nations called for an investigation and said he had faced threats over the years because of her human rights work. 

Her organisation provided shelter and support to women escaping domestic abuse, trafficking and so-called honour killings. The killing has intensified fears among women’s rights advocates, who say threats and attacks make their work dangerous.

Hana Edwar, another prominent Iraqi women’s rights activist, said she had met Mohammed two days before her death and had also received threats.

“There is no law, no protection and no justice for women in Iraq,” she said.

Mustafa Saadoon, head of the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights, said women faced demands to settle complaints privately at every stage of the process, from leaving home to approaching a police station and appearing in court.

“The problem in Iraq is not that women stay silent. The problem is that when they speak, there are very few ways for the system to hear them,” he said.

Harassment on street and in public transport

Samira, whose real name has also been withheld, said repeated experiences of harassment had left her anxious when walking outdoors. On one occasion, she said, a man watching a pornographic video on his phone pushed the screen close to her face while they were using public transport.

In another incident in Baghdad, she said a driver followed her in his car for more than 10 minutes. She spotted a police vehicle and approached the officers to explain what had happened. “They said they had no authority to do anything,” she recalled.

She said she had not told her mother about these incidents, despite their close relationship. She feared her family would respond by restricting her movements in an attempt to protect her.

“If I tell my family, they will immediately tell me not to leave the house,” she said.

She has lost faith in state institutions and believes some men, including police officers, do not treat harassment as a serious offence. Several women interviewed for the report also accused police personnel of sexual harassment.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry spokesman Muqdad Miri acknowledged that cases involving police officers accused of harassment had occurred, but described them as rare. He said officers found guilty could face up to 10 years in prison and dismissal from service.

Miri argued that social media had become a common way for women to grab attention to alleged wrongdoing because posting online can be easier than filing a formal complaint. Asked about Samira’s description of a police officer refusing to intervene, he said she could have lodged a complaint against the officer.

The ministry had received around 300 complaints of sexual violence since the beginning of the year, Miri said. He acknowledged that the actual number was higher because social customs and traditions prevented many cases from reaching the police.

The cost of speaking out

Jasim, Amal and Samira’s experiences show that women reporting harassment or abuse may face threats from the accused, pressure from relatives, difficulty obtaining legal help and uncertainty over police action.

Jasim sees sharing videos as a way to preserve evidence and encourage women to speak publicly. However, she said threats against her had made it difficult to leave her home.

Edwar, who has spent more than five decades working on women’s rights, said she believed the situation of Iraqi women had deteriorated in the 23 years since Saddam Hussein’s government fell.

Jasim said she would continue her work despite the risks. “If we all become afraid, nobody will be able to change anything,” she said.